Several days passed as the carnival traveled toward its next destination.

The Carnival owner Samphire looked at Tad playing near the wagons while he spoke to Beothorn. "I know you and Marena have grown fond of the child. I know it has been a hard decision to let him go, but we agreed our carnival is no place to raise a small child. We don't know enough yet to understand what kind of curse has a hold on the child. I will keep an eye on him while he grows, and in time we will better understand the magic that afflicts him. Make sure he takes the statue. I've placed a spell on it to keep track of the child and his curse."

Beothorn nodded in agreement and said with some sadness in his voice, "I'll make sure he keeps it with him. We'll be on our way." He turned and walked to the wagons.

"Thaddius, get in the wagon," said Beothorn. "We are taking you to your new home today to live with a very nice couple I know."

The dwarf lifted Tad under the arms and placed him on the top rung of the wagon steps.

"Sit down, and we will be off, " said Beothorn.

Beothorn had just one wagon with a driver for this trip. He figured they would be back in a couple of days, with the portal being near to where the carnival was camped.

Tad climbed up on the crates behind the buckboard and took a seat, holding his only possession of the softly lit bird statue. Beothorn followed, climbing up and onto the buckboard. He gave the signal to move out to the driver.

Two days later, the wagons arrived at the village of Acorn Hill. He saw the small round building in the center of the village that it was named after. It looked similar to an acorn with its round building and a pointed cap roof. It stood about twelve feet in diameter and six feet high.

The wagon entered the village and stopped near the well. Beothorn told the driver to wait. He grabbed a small bag, helped Tad down from the wagon, and took his hand before they made their way to the town's mill.

Beothorn shouted loudly from the mill's entrance, "Dan, are you around?"

"Yea, one second," said a gruff voice from the back of the mill. A moment later, a strong older man with greying shoulder-length hair made his way to the front of the mill. His broad shoulders and weathered face had the look of a man use to hard work. Dan smiled when he saw the dwarf, "Oh, Beothorn! Glad to see you made it. The wife and I received your message just last night."

"Aye, good to hear. How's Shelly?" asked Beothorn.

"Doing well. She has been a bit lonely since our children have all been married off. She is on pins and needles waiting to hear news about a grandchild. My youngest son, Mark, moved away to start a mill a few villages to the east with his new bride. I couldn't be prouder." The two men continued talking about the local town news and world concerns. Beothorn listened, occasionally nodding before they finally acknowledged Thaddius still holding Beothorn's hand.

"Well," Beothorn started. "Tad here is looking for a home. He should be able to help out around the mill in a year or two." Beothorn added, trying to emphasize Tad's usefulness. "I have nothing but good things to say about him. He keeps to himself and follows directions well for his age," continued Beothorn.

"Good to hear." Dan looked down and nodded at Tad. "We have a room already set up for him. It even has a window with a shutter, so he should be comfortable in there." He paused, his expression softening even further as he thought of his wife, "Shelly will be happy to have him around the house."

Beothorn looked down at Tad, who was still holding his hand with one hand and the small glowing statue in the other. He really was a docile child, "Tad does like this little bird statue and light orb. It's an odd little thing, but it is completely harmless. But I wouldn't try playing with it. That little orb is quite loyal to his master Sir Thaddius," Beothorn said with a mixture of humor and sarcasm. "Oh, I almost forgot." Beothorn grabbed a pouch he had tied to his belt, "Marena and I put together a little coin to help ease any expense he might create for you." With his free hand, Beothorn held the bag out to Dan.

Dan shifted his stance, his eyes squinting in thought.

After a lengthy silence, Dan took the pouch from Beothorn.

"I'll drop by to check up on him at least once a year when we get supplies," said Beothorn.

"Thank you for the gift. It is very generous," said Dan.

Beothorn released Tad's hand, swung a small drawstring bag off of his back, and handed it to Dan also. "Here is a change of clothes. Marena made them for him. She will miss him greatly." Beothorn tried to cover the emotion that had caught in his own throat.

Beothorn looked down at Tad, smiling. "Well, Tad, hopefully, you will remember your time with us as we will never forget you. Next time I see you, you will be nearly a man," Beothorn teased.

He quitted his voice and looked straight into Thaddius's eyes. "Dan here is a good man. You will have a good life here with people that are like you. Behave and listen to what you are told." He would have said more, but there was that pesky emotion rising up again. Beothorn squeezed Tad on the shoulder and shook Dan's hand, turned and walked away. He was halfway down the street before he looked back. Dan was at Thaddius' side. Thaddius stared emotionless back at Beothorn. If Beothorn had looked closely, he would have seen the water-filled eyes of Thaddius and a single tear that slowly traced his cheek.

***

Acorn Hill

"I dare you to go in there," said the older boy.

"Why should I?" asked Tad looking defiantly at the older boy called Rulupe.

"Because you can't play with us until you show us you're brave, " continued Rulupe.

Rulupe and his two buddies from town stood in place with their hands crossed across their chest, resigned to not relinquish any ground. They had decided that this was the test to be in their group, and no one ever received a waiver. Across the village center, their mothers talked about town gossip while they each drew water out of the well for their homes. This was a daily event for the village women. Every morning, they gathered in the town center and spoke while the kids played nearby.

"I think you're just afraid," taunted one of the boys. He continued, trying to terrify Thaddius. "I heard a ghoul lives in the shrine and tries to eat whoever dares to enter." Rulupe raised his arms and made a terrifying face while making a low growling sound.

Tad sensed that all the boys now thought him scared and unworthy of their loyalty. Tad was five now and wanted to play with the other boys, and he did not want them to think him scared.

Tad stiffened with resolve. "I'll go in," he said. Rulupe pointed to the shadowy door leading into the circular building that gave the village its name. "You have to stay in there until each of us counts to ten."

It was not until then that Tad remembered the warning from Shelly to stay out of that building. He could not be seen as a coward, and the other children would never respect him if he did not prove himself.

Tad inspected the round building closer. It was not like Tad to disobey, but what choice did he have, he thought. The curved smooth walls were covered by a rounded roof that came to a point in the center where a visible pipe was stuck out. It really did look just like an acorn, thought Tad.

"You have to touch the pipe," Rulupe added with a smile. The other two boys lost their smiles and looked at Rulupe with concern. One of them began to open his mouth in opposition when Rulupe exclaimed with deeper resolve, "touch," he paused, "the," he paused again, "pipe."

The rumor among the children was that besides the ghoul who lived in the building, there was a pipe that housed a godly spirit that could kill you. It was able to leave the pipe on certain holidays and circled the city at night, devouring any children outside after dark.

"I'm not afraid of a metal pipe," Tad sincerely offered.

Rulupe hmphed in disbelief.

Tad looked over to the women near the well. Their attention was occupied with what must have been a tasty bit of gossip because they were all huddled together, intent on listening to the one telling the story. Tad turned back around and, without wasting a moment, marched into the shadowy opening of the building.

The inside of the building was expectedly round, just like the outside. Near the middle of the open room was a small wooden table with a statue of Tincéirn, the god of tinkers and smiths. Using his empathy, Tad could sense no ghoul in the building and sighed in relief. He stood without moving for a moment allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room.

Tad could hear the boys counting outside. Not too far past the table was the long brown pipe that emerged from square stone on the floor to fit snuggly fit in domed roof. Suddenly startled, Tad whipped around to the door only to discover the rustling he heard was just leaves twirling in the wind seeking to enter the empty room. Tad was more scared than he thought he would be. Tad turned back to the pipe and looked it up and down. The boys' counting continued slowly. Before it was Rulupe's turn to count, he urged Thaddius forward with a loud "Chicken, brawk."

Tad did not want to lose his resolve. His face bunched up in determination, and he walked toward the metal pipe. Before he could talk himself out of it, he reached out and touched it with his open palm. Both surprising and reassuring, it felt cool to his touch, but more than that, Thaddius felt a presence inside it. Although unexpected, the presence seemed calm and neutral. Thaddius reached his empathy out further, trying to reach the pipe creature. Just then, a shock ran through his palm and entered his body, flinging him backward onto his backside. Thaddius was surprised for sure but not frightened. He was more interested in discovering the creature that dwelled within the pipe than the pain he had felt. He stood determined to move back to the pipe when the pipe started to melt at the roof. It faded away down to the floor like the wax melting from a lit candle.

A concerned voice came from one of the boys outside, "Rulupe, you should go get him."

"The ghoul got him," said the other in a scared voice.

"You need to get him before our moms see us," said the other boy. "He should have been out of there by now. "

Rulupe's own bravery crumbled. "You have to come with me!"

Rulupe and the other boys walked slowly to the open door. They had all been in there once before for their own initiation, but somehow, that did not seem to give them much comfort now.

Together as one, they pushed their way into the open room, seeing immediately that something dark and shadowy gripped Thaddius. They blinked a few times, trying to adjust their eyes to the low lite room.

Rulupe screamed, "RUN!"

The other boys started yelling as well. They all pushed and scrambled their way out of the doorway.

"It got him. It got him!" yelled Rulupe running to stand behind his mother and pointing back to the acorn building that no longer had a pipe sticking out of the top of it. Fear was visible on his face.

It only took a moment for Shelly to notice which boy was absent from their group. "Tad," yelled Shelly hiking her skirts and running to the entrance of the acorn building. As her eyes adjusted, she saw Tad kneeling in the center of the room with his hands resting on the top of a small smooth brown metal cube. Next to him was an overturned table and a statue lying next to it on the floor.

Shelly had a look of panic which crept its way into her voice. "Tad, come away from that now," she said, trying to keep her composure. Her own fear of the room did not allow her to enter any further.

At Shelly's voice, Tad's eyes opened as if he was just awakened. He stood up slowly and walked over to Shelly. Relieved, she grabbed him by the shoulders and rushed him through the doorway to the safety outside.

A crowd started to form around Shelly and Tad. "What did you do?" she asked sternly, feeling the eyes of the villagers upon her.

"Nothing," declared Tad. He could feel her concern for him giving way to embarrassment.

No one knew how old the building was. It had always been there, and the town just sprung up around it. To her knowledge, only the blacksmith had ever been in or out. There was an unspoken understanding in the town to leave the building alone. Its mystery harvested a healthy dose of fairytales passed down from generation to generation.

Seeing Tad was not harmed or showing signs of an explanation, her next move was to remove them from the prying, judgmental eyes of the gathered town's people.

Shelly leaned over to one of her friends and whispered, "Go get the blacksmith. He may know what to do."

Shelly moved herself and Tad to the mill while her friend left in the opposite direction to the blacksmith, leaving everyone else there to speculate about the creature of their local legend.

Several long minutes later, the blacksmith arrived. Shelly had told Dan about the metal cube, Tad offering no additional details. Dan, Shelly, and Tad went back to the acorn building to meet the blacksmith. The blacksmith often went to the small building throughout the years. He had been the one that placed the small shrine to the god of tinkers in there. He also occasionally cleaned it out while giving a wide berth to the metal tube that had shocked him more than once, the last time quite severely.

Dan was already by the doorway, looking into the shadowy room, when the blacksmith arrived. Dan and the blacksmith spoke in hushed tones while Tad sat unharmed outside on the ground nearby.

The men eyed the room. The cube described by Shelly sat on the square stone in the middle of the room. The perfect cube was just a little under two feet in height. The men were astonished by the magical glowing swirls flowing across its smooth surfaces. Dimly lit designs of various shapes formed and disappeared as fast as they could recognize them. Neither man wanted to touch the cube. The blacksmith noticed the pipe was missing and the cube was made from the same material. He looked up, confirming his suspicions seeing the light of the morning pouring through the hole in the roof where the pipe once resided.

He mumbled a few words to Dan, left, and returned a few minutes later with a rope that he gingerly looped around the cube, making sure not to touch it with his hands. He pulled with all his might, unsuccessfully trying to budge the cube. Dan joined him. The two men grunted and pulled in vain. Then the blacksmith brought over his mule, and all three of them pulled the cube until the rope frayed and snapped. The cube would not budge.

By now, a large crowd had formed outside the acorn. Their murmuring of ideas and concern was interrupted as the crowd parted to allow the town elder to make his way through.

The elderly man was bent over a cane and dressed in brown robes. He hobbled slowly toward Thaddius, Dan, and Shelly, peered inside the room, and proclaimed, "This is ancient magic, and we should not have it here. It will bring destruction to our village. You must remove the boy and the object from our town, or we will all be doomed."

***