Ah, sweet reverie.
Ta la, la, la, ta la, la, la, la, la, laaaa, la...
Troll sneezed.
And was awake.
Hanging upside down, above an Honestist pit.
He looked down and saw only darkness below. The fires around him were smouldering, nearly out; nothing moved. No Honestists. No Ikol. And, regrettably, no woman with the red lips.
Hang on. Troll felt fur in his face, and sneezed again. He lifted his head as best he could, and saw the emotuftie that had abandoned him earlier, snuffling under his chin, its bushy tail tickling his nose.
And there, beyond the emotuftie, on the top of the scaffold from which troll had been strung, were two men. Sitting. Eating sandwiches and swinging their legs. One was drinking beer. They were uncannily alike, and yet very different.
How do. One said, seeing troll awake, raising his bottle in greeting. He carried on eating his sandwich.
Fancy a sandwich? He continued, proffering what looked like a lunch box.
Troll shook his head.
What goes around comes around, hey, dude? The chatty one continued, munching.
Troll closed his eyes. Sighed.
This was all he needed.
You see, he went on, Sure as night follows day...
an' day follows night, chipped in the second.
you know that there's stuff which you simply canna change.... speaking together. They looked at each other and smiled.
The first stopped eating his sandwich. He stretched an arm out in front of him, and seemed to be looking at something in the distance, something that wasn't there.
Get my drift? and then dropped his gaze down to troll.
Troll shook his head.
She'la shudda known that. And he shook his head, and tutted.
Sheila? asked troll.
She-o-la. She who strung you up here, mate. Dream weaver. Man, you're lucky. She'd've had your liver onna fork. She'd've...eughk...don't bare thinking about.' he shuddered, and continued, 'We've seen some terrible things. And had to tidy up afterwards too. He shook his head then, and took another bite.
Where is she? asked troll, curious, but not.
She's gorn, mate. But she'll be back, no doubt about it. Sure as night follows day....
You all right there? You're not looking too good. The other one said.
Troll struggled, and shouted at no-one in particular Of course I ain't alright here....
Well, why didn'tcha say so? And the man stuffed the sandwich between his teeeth, and maneuvering to the edge of the scaffold he reached into his pocket bringing out a short knife and with a swift cut, he sliced through the rope tying troll's ankles together.
And not for the first time that day, he and the emotuftie found themselves falling....
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