“A heel was buried between my shoulder blades and my left arm was pulled behind me before I even had a chance to twist out of the way from a possible second assault. I was in middle of getting the dagger that was literary hidden up my right sleeve when a voice above my attacker and me bellowed.
“‘Dandelion! Enough! This young man has a message for our master.’
“‘That’s right, pal,’ I said, “and I must say that “Dandelion” isn’t the most manly name I have heard today.’
“I felt my left arm be released from its uncomfortable pin, and I spun around ready to fend off a boot to the face from this guy.
“This guy, however, turned out to be this girl: a slander girl of my age with a self satisfied smile spread across her face. The hood to her blue cloak was thrown back, revealing her wild, shoulder length blonde hair. She had green eyes, and she winked down at me.
“Ending her taunt, she pouted her lips and whined, ‘Aw, come on, Sturm. It was so fun chasing him across town. He took forever to catch on that I was even there.’
“I realized she was performing to the statue, or, what I had first mistaken as a statue. The macabre seven foot giant with a war helmet in the shape of a skull wore a silver chest plate, arm, wrist, and shin guards. Both the arm and shin armor had short but menacing spikes spouting along their surfaces. The toes of his heavy boots were horned, and a black Count’s cape ruffled in the night wind. I had never seen a creature like the behemoth that was towering over me, and I had told myself that I would fain courage with a clever pun. I gulped instead.
“‘Do you possess Knight Di’Lando’s letter?’ the monster named Sturm flatly asked me. It was disconcerting to not be able to see his (its) facial expressions, but the always pronounced timing of a lightening strike that lit up the sky behind him made him more frightening.
“I gave a weak nod and handed him the letter.
“I heard laughter behind me. ‘I think he is afraid of you, Sturm!’ Dandelion exclaimed.
“‘You may go now,’ commanded Sturm without looking at me, but, then again, how would I know?
“I stood up and pretended to dust myself off. ‘You know, I could have lost you, Dandelion.’
“‘Oh, I am sure you could have, but you didn’t.’ Dandelion said and waved at me. ‘Ta-ta for now, blue boy,’ she said and giggled her way through Knight Di’ Lando’s front doors. Sturm resumed his stance to the left side of the gate entrance, silent and still.
“I was left with no choice but to return back to my hammock nailed to the pantry walls of the Choking Giant Bar. It was prearranged that Philip the Fool and I would not meet again at the carriage. There was too much risk of drawing suspicion to keep it parked in the middle of market square at night.
“I could have lost her, may I point out. Sure, I will fully admit that I got a little overconfident. But, come on. Usually, the people attempting to follow me couldn’t sneak up on a dead horse, let alone catch me. I admit that Dandelion was good, but not that good.
“After kicking off my boots, I began to dose off in my hammock. Just when I was about to get comfortable enough to dream, I snapped awake in dread. I could see my breath in the cold air when I spoke the poisoned fruit born from my mental revisiting of that night’s events.
“‘She knows I intercepted the message.’
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