Beothorn was dispatched to retrieve Thaddius immediately. He had already planned a supply run in two days, but he hastened his departure after hearing Samphire's words.

"I have divined the curse that Tad is under and its effects. You should be prepared for bad news when you reach Acorn Hill. Please do not blame him or the villagers. The curse is very powerful, and it appears to have affected every one of his ancestors for many generations. It is quite possibly affecting the villagers too."

Beothorn had not asked any questions or wasted any time. He and his men left within the hour. He knew he was pushing their horses hard, but Samphire's words were vague and ominous. Beothorn's only thoughts were for Thaddius and what he would find when he arrived. They simply could not move the wagons fast enough. What had Samphire meant cursed and not blaming the village or him? Beothorn questioned if he should have ever let Thaddius go in the first place. No, he could not think like that. Thaddius had done well in his home for the past two years. Dan and Shelly had said he was even starting to help clean up around the mill and helping with work. The boy had appeared happy on Beothorn's last visit.

Three days later, Beothorn finally reached the village with his men and wagons. They went straight to the mill to pick up their previously ordered goods from Dan's grain mill and, more importantly, to find out what happened and retrieve Thaddius. Their voices were hushed as the three sat across from one another around Dan and Shelly's table. Thaddius had already been sent to bed before the caravan had arrived late that evening.

Dan detailed the previous few days' events to Beothorn before Shelly added, "Beothorn, we do love Tad. He has been a good boy, but no one will come near him or us after what the town elder said. We have not had a single customer in days. If it were not for your order, we would be worried about paying the lord's taxes. We are no longer welcome at the well. Yesterday, a child threw a rock at Tad, striking him. Everyone in every village near here has heard the tale. Men from all around have come to try to remove the cube, but it will not budge from its resting place on the stone in the center of the acorn building. The more attention it gets, the more the villagers are angry with us and fear the elder's warning. Several angry men came by last night demanding Tad. If Dan had not been able to drive them off," Shelly paused to regain her composure, "I do not know what would have happened. He must go with you before he is seriously injured or worse." Dan held Shelly's hand for support. Beothorn could read the anguish and sadness on both of their faces. Their mill was their life for a family like this, and they couldn't leave it. The couple had grown to love Thaddius as their own son.

Looking at Shelly's troubled face, Beothorn answered her request in a heavy voice. "Aye, I'll take him with us. Has Tad returned to the cube since this happened?"

"No," Shelly stated defensively with a surprised tone. She brought her emotions back under control before offering, "we didn't know what would happen. We didn't want him to get hurt," she paused, unsure if she should say out loud her fears and hesitations, "or anyone else." She was embarrassed for fearing Thaddius, but she was right there when the elder spoke his grave warning. "The townsmen have sent for a magician from the lord's court. We are waiting, but who knows when he will show up."

Thaddius laid awake in bed. He could feel the pain this was causing Dan and Shelly and the concern that pulsed off Beothorn in waves of emotion. Thaddius didn't understand why everyone was afraid of him now. He had shown how brave he was to the other children, and now they were consumed by fear of him. The creature had done it all, not him. After Shelly and Dan's reaction, he thought it best not to share with them that he could sense something in the metal cube.

Beothorn arrived back at Dan and Shelly's place as soon as the sun rose in the sky. He disclosed his plan to take Thaddius back to the acorn building so he could see the cube for himself firsthand. In unison, Dan and Shelly warned him not to touch it.

All four of them made their way to the acorn building. Beothorn's men were already there waiting for them with their wagons loaded. Dan and Shelly stayed near the wagons as Beothorn and Thaddius moved toward the building. Beothorn could easily distinguish the now-infamous cube still sitting in its same location unchanged upon entering the small building. Beothorn ordered Thaddius to stand just inside the door as he moved closer to inspect the cube. As Beothorn approached the cube, he pulled his dagger from his belt. He tapped cautiously on the cube with the hilt of his blade. He hesitated to see if any surprises awaited him.

Thaddius watched Beothorn and said, "It is ok. It says we can be near it."

Beothorn turned his head back to Thaddius with a puzzled look. "You can talk to it?"

Fearlessly the boy walked up to the cube and placed both of his hands on top of it. Slow swirls of white sheen began to cover the cube. Thaddius was not hurt in any visible way that Beothorn could see.

Beothorn stood silently, curious about the connection between the boy and the cube.

Slowly, just as the pipe had melted into the cube, the cube melted into a brass humanoid-looking figure with a kettle-shaped head. It had two spindly arms and legs sticking out of its body, standing just over three feet tall. A flat face appeared with two facets that looked like black marbles for eyes. It had no mouth and only the smallest shape of a nose where the spout on a kettle would be.

Beothorn took a step back, reaching for his shield with one hand and Thaddius with his other. "Tad, do you know what this is?" asked Beothorn.

Thaddius' brow wrinkled in his response, "A sad friend."

"Can you still talk to it? What does it want?" asked the dwarf.

Thaddius shrugged. To Beothorn surprise, Thaddius had taken ahold the small creature's hand. It had two fingers and one thumb with metal joints for knuckles.

"Tad, get behind me," said Beothorn steading his shield. Thaddius did as he was told, releasing the creature's hand. As Thaddius moved, the creature moved in a perfectly mirrored choreography. Thaddius moved to the left the creature made an equally matched move. When the boy moved to the right, the creature made another equally matched move. Thaddius raised his hands; the creature raised his hands. Thaddius kicked out his foot; the creature kicked out his foot. Sensing no harm, Thaddius moved back to the creature and then walked around it in a circle. The creature's head and eyes followed Thaddius turning only its head while its body remained stationary.

"How are you able to speak with it?" asked Beothorn, wondering what it was doing.

"Not with words like you and I, but with feelings. He isn't dangerous, just lost, I think."

Beothorn was not convinced it meant them no harm. "I think we best leave it alone and let the Lord's magician deal with it. Let's go." Beothorn slowly moved back toward the door without turning his back to the creature. Thaddius followed Beothorn. To their astonishment, the creature followed Thaddius. They moved past the door and into the street. Beothorn was still walking backward, not taking his eyes off the creature, hoping the creature would remain in the building, but the metallic creature continued to follow.

Dan and Shelly were near the wagon, wide-eyed in surprise.

"What is that?" Dan blurted in a loud whisper. A loud gasp came from a younger mother across the street. She scooped up her child and hurried away.

"I think we ought to be on our way." Beothorn quickly helped Thaddius onto the buckboard seat of the closest wagon.

Beothorn turned to Dan, "I don't know what it is. Tad thinks it is friendly, and I've not seen anything to make me think otherwise."

"What are you going to do with him?" asked Dan.

"Leave him here until the Lord's magician arrives," said Beothorn.

"That could be days. Did you not listen to what the elder said. If you leave that thing with us, we are all doomed, and now apparently, it is no longer a cube and is walking around. Please get rid of it, drop it in the wild lands or the forest. Just don't leave it here," said Dan with pleading in his voice.

Beothorn contemplated their predicament for a moment until his thoughts were interrupted by shouts of angry men in the distance. Their noise turned everyone's attention to the slope behind their wagons.

Beothorn looked at Thaddius who was in the wagon now, "What do you think, lad, should we take him with us? "

Thaddius quickly jumped down and took the metal creature by his small metal hand. The two stood together at almost identical in size staring at each other. The cries of the angry villagers coming closer brought Beothorn to action. The woman that had seen them earlier must have told others, and fear was now seizing the town. He grabbed Thaddius away from the little metal man and put Thaddius in the seat next to the driver.

"Best say your goodbyes, and quickly," said Beothorn to Dan and Shelly.

Shelly stepped up on the wagon, reached over, and hugged Thaddius. "Tad, we love you very much." He hugged her back. "Be safe and..."

The tension in Beothorn's voice cut Shelly off, "We must go!" said Beothorn loudly.

Shelly looked up. A large group of angry-looking men was coming toward them, waving makeshift weapons and farm tools. Shelly quickly stepped down from the wagon allowing Beothorn room to get up.

Thaddius protested, "He wants to come with us. He says it's time."

Beothorn looked at the creature and then back at Thaddius. "I'll keep him out of trouble if you let him come." Beothorn doubted the notion but not the intention.

Beothorn knew they needed to go before they had to confront the villagers. Samphire would not want there to be any bloodshed among the villagers. His words rang in Beothorn's ears, 'don't blame the village."

"I guess we cannot leave him here. Who knows what the village will do to him." His next sentence was almost inaudible. "Or what he would do to them."

"Hop up," Thaddius said joyfully to the metal creature. The little metal creature looked up at Thaddius and then at the wagon. It stepped onto the first step before Beothorn hollered at the drive to go. The metal humanoid gripped the oak sidebar with his metal hands while standing still on the step. The wagon rocked as the driver got up to speed, but Thaddius' new friend held on tight without wavering.

Trying to put Thaddius at ease from the abrupt departure, Beothorn looked over at the small metallic creature, then back at Thaddius. "Well, we cannot have him wandering around without a name. How about we call him Kettle? He does kind of resemble one."

Thaddius looked at the metal figure gripping the side of the wagon. They exchanged a long silence. Beothorn figured they were talking or feelings, he supposed it was a better word.

Finally, Thaddius looked up, smiling, "He doesn't think he looks like a Kettle, but I like it."

Two days and a portal later, Beothorn, Thaddius, Kettle, and the other men in the crew arrived back at the carnival. The carnival was packed and ready to move out to their next destination. There was a hundred-wagon-long train of carts and animals all anxious to leave. It took very little time to find Marena and even less time for Marena to find Thaddius in her arms paying no attention to Thaddius's new friend tagging behind.

***

Meeting Samphire

The following day Beothorn woke Thaddius early. They went to the food wagon just as the sun was breaking the horizon. Before getting in line to get some food, he instructed Thaddius on where the water barrels were for washing up in the morning and evening after work. It was three simple barrels of water that had a couple of large ladles hanging from the side. Some hanging clothes were strung across on a wire nearby. After washing up a bit, they stood in line for an early breakfast. There were no tables or chairs. Everyone ate while standing up and putting their food on the little ledge attached to the wagon's sides. Some folks talked a bit but mostly just nodded or waved, ate quickly, and headed off through the tents to attend to whatever jobs awaited them.

"Tad, you are going to meet a very important man today. His name is Samphire. This," Beothorn spread his arms out wide, "is all his. He owns the Samphire's Carnival, and we all work for him." Beothorn paused while Thaddius turned around to look at all the wagons.

"He has kept track of you these last two years to make sure you were safe. He is the one that let me know I needed to go to Acorn Hill to get you. He would like to meet you in person." Beothorn shifted his weight before continuing. "I know we left Acorn Hill rather quickly, and you did not have much chance to say goodbye to Dan and Shelly, and you miss them, but Marena and I were hoping you would be ok living with us here at the Samphire's Carnaval."

Thaddius's eyes brightened, and he responded enthusiastically, "yes."

"Hold on now. You need to know the number one rule of the carnival before you agree. Everyone who is part of the carnival must work for the carnival's success. There are no free rides here, and everyone has a job, and everyone works."

"I can do that!" replied Thaddius, still enthusiastic.

"We think you would make a fine addition to the carnival. Now you are still young, but it's never too early to learn responsibility."

Thaddius had difficulty sensing Beothorn's feelings, but he could now tell how fond Beothorn was of him. Thaddius liked being around the animals and such unusual people. He felt at home here. Everyone was so friendly to him.

"Kettle can work, so he can stay too," stated Thaddius with certainty.

"We will see," Beothorn gave Thaddius's hair a short tussle, "let's find Samphire."

They walked towards the front of the group of wagons as people were packing up to get ready for the wagon train moving out again for another day of travel. Beothorn found Samphire near the front of the wagons talking to a hand full of men. He and Thaddius stood to the side, waiting for Samphire to finish his conversation. They did not wait long, before Samphire dismissed the men and turned to Beothorn and Thaddius.

"Sir, You wanted to meet Thaddius," said Beothorn. While Beothorn discussed Thaddius staying with him and Merena, Tad eyed the prominent older man with no hair they called Samphire. The man wasn't tall for a human, but he stood taller than Beothorn. He wore a blue jacket over an off-white shirt and brown loose-fitting pants with half-boots for shoes. He had a deeper voice than Thaddius expected.

Thaddius tried to sense Samphire's emotions towards him when a powerful presence filled his mind, "You know it's not polite to search another's feelings without permission, young man?"

Thaddius gasped. No human had ever spoken to his mind before. "I'm sorry, sir," Thaddius said aloud, looking down at his feet. Beothorn, unaware of what just happened, stared at Thaddius inquisitively.

Samphire directed Beothorn's attention back to him, "That is fine, Beothorn. Is Marena going to be teaching him then?"

At the same time, Samphire spoke in Thaddius's mind. "I will let it pass this time, but do not let it happen again. Other people might not be as nice about it."

Beothorn said, "I believe so, yes. We didn't discuss this fully, but I do not see why she would not."

"One last thing if the metal creature you call Kettle is disruptive in any way, it would be best to come to me immediately," said Samphire.

"Absolutely, he hasn't been a problem so far, but I'll keep an eye on him," said Beothorn. Samphire nodded in dismissal and went to talk to others we were now waiting nearby.

Beothorn and Thaddius turned and made their way back towards their wagon.

A few wagons away, Thaddius asked with a bit of concern in his voice, "How did he know about Kettle?"

Beothorn stopped and looked down at Thaddius, "He knows what he knows, and that is usually everything."

Thaddius slowed for a second, thinking hard about that, then ran to catch back up to Beothorn. "Let's go see the quartermaster about a job that is your size."

***

Learning

Marena gave a thoughtful look at Thaddius. "Have you started your studies on reading and writing or adding and subtracting?"

"No, ma'am." Thaddius was not sure why but he felt shame for some reason.

"Did they not teach you anything in the human village," Marena mumbled under her breath.

Thaddius looked at her. He did not want to disappoint her. More enthusiastically than necessary, he offered, "I learned how to count to 12. I learned that packing up the eggs from the chickens behind the mill."

Marena could not help but notice Thaddius' look of pride. "Well, that is spectacular. I always knew you were smart. 12 is a great place for us to launch our studies. You are a very special boy, Tad. You have an incredible gift of being able to feel the emotions of others. I will need to teach you to read and write so I can teach you magic."

She whispered the word magic. She flashed her hands and then fanned them outward dramatically. "My mother taught me magic, and her mother taught her magic just as her mother did before her. Our gift of magic has been passed down through my family for more generations than I know. Once you learn to read and write, I will teach you. We will start tomorrow."

Thaddius nodded in agreement. He was excited at the idea of learning to read and write, but most of all, magic.

Just as Marena had claimed, she taught Thaddius the very next day and for many days to follow. He learned to read and write quickly for a child his age. He was bright, and he had the additional help of always being able to feel from Marena when something was correct or not. This empathy allowed him to correct his mistakes and move forward fast. Marena knew he was an empath, but she was still surprised at how quickly he learned.

One day before their studies began, Thaddius played at the wagon's entrance. He poked his head inside the door and then pulled it back out. He could not figure out why it appeared so much bigger on the inside than from the outside.

After watching the child for a while, Beothorn asked him, "Have you figured it out yet, lad?"

"Is it like when we go through a gate to another plane? " Tad asked.

"Not exactly. It's lesser magic. Have you learned about magical gates and other dimensional planes yet?"

"No," Tad answered.

Beothorn continued, "That door is a shrink enchantment. It is less expensive and without the risk of other creatures coming through." Beothorn added with a little chuckle of reminiscence. "Also, the upkeep is simpler. All that is needed is for the mages to occasionally put energia into it to keep it working. The wagons' entrances are made of enchanted wood bracings. Anything passing through these openings will shrink as it enters and goes back to normal when it exits, no matter how it exits. If an entrance is destroyed, then everything inside will go back to its original size as the sides fall off. I'm told that this magic is one of the simpler enchantments. That is why it looks so large when you're inside of it with all the extra space. You're just much smaller than the wagon when inside."

"You mean I shrink every time I go in the wagon and grow every time I leave the wagon?

"Yes, it can make your head swim thinking about it. Magic has a way of doing that," said Beothorn.

***