Spidena tripped once… twice… and by the third time Ben made the very ungallant decision to haul her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and continue bolting like a soldier in an active battle field, making her squawk and scream in indignation.

“That’s great! Draw them to us! Just pipe down once we round back to the inn so they can’t follow us!” Ben panted seriously as he single mindedly tried to weave in and out of trees, boulders, and sliding town a small hill before rounding back.

“Put! Me! Down! Before I–Oomp!” Spidena was cut off as Ben managed to leap over a set of roots and land firmly, though his knees did buckle somewhat with Spidena’s weight pressing down on his left shoulder, the thump also winded the witch.

The sound of Oleg and his thugs crashing through the forest could be heard behind them for a little while, but eventually they must have realized how loud they were being, as the noises abruptly stopped. Ben paused long enough to put Spidena back on her own two feet, but then proceeded to yank her down to crouch behind the swell of land they had just descended.

“Next time ask before tossing me over your shoulder!” Spidena hissed while hastily wiping away the excess water from her eyes that would have come after her having to gasp for breath.

Ben didn’t look at the witch as he continued to crane his neck to peer over the ridge, but he did respond with, “Fine. Next time I’ll leave your clumsy ass behind to get caught.”

Spidena opened her mouth, and was of course most likely about to make an indignant remark, when Ben held up his hand, stopping her.

Her attention swiveled over and saw none other than Ostrig creeping soundlessly through the woods, with what little neck he had strained over his collar as he peered around the trees.

“If it’s just him you’ll be fine. I’m sure you could grab his head at arms length and he wouldn’t be able to touch you,” Spidena said with a sigh, while already leaning against the trunk of a maple tree to her right.

“Don’t be stupid. If he’s here, his goons aren’t far behind. If we just wait twenty minutes… hopefully less… we’ll be in the clear. Let’s start heading back, slowly.”

“Is there a reason you’re being a dung beetle about this?” Spidena wondered without bothering to lower her voice and folding her arms over her chest.

Ben turned to her, looking every level of incredulous. “I’m facing the man who sold me and he and his massive friends want to beat us into a couple of shallow graves, but you’re acting like we’re getting chased by a bloody possum!”

Once again, Spidena opened her mouth to retort, only to be stopped from saying anything by Ben suddenly grabbing her forearm and tugging her down to avoid Ostrig’s sights as the man continued to survey his surroundings.

“Boss!” a voice hollered in the distance. “Come here! I’m sure we can find ‘em if we follow their tracks.”

Ben and Spidena waited. Their hearts pounding and their breaths quiet until the rustling of Ostrig’s footsteps had faded away.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Ben murmured while still crouched as he started to navigate his way expertly around the trees.

Spidena on the other hand stood up straight, looked around, and once she’d confirmed Ostrig was nowhere near them, strode lazily after Ben, making all the noise she wanted to.

“How is this better than letting me make a spell to kick them out?”

“Your incantation is what got us into this mess. And because you hit Ostrig with a bloody serving tray,” Ben continued to whisper. “Besides, I’m not risking getting any more magic debt.”

“I already told you. As a seeb you are the least likely to get backlash.”

Ben could hear the eyeroll in her voice, and so he, too, straightened and rounded on the witch, his anger and agitation getting the best of him.

“Yeah, well, you also said magic favors witches over seebs, and you also said that our big fate tie was because I asked for too big of a spell. So I’m not feeling all that confident that things are as certain as you say they are.”

Spidena paused. “Wow. You actually do listen.”

Ben didn’t bother retorting and instead continued to pick his way back in the direction of the inn.

“Listen, I don’t know why exactly you got caught up in the debt, but it does mean that the magic affected a lot of people and situations that are widespread. Something about that lump with a wheeze-hole named Ostrig Vontrik knowing who you are was important and big enough that you acquired debt. I still can’t believe I got caught up in it as the broker… But I will say, while magic does favor witches, it only applies if something is unfair toward us.”

“Why is it important that Ostrig knows who I am?”

“How the hells should I know! I don’t even know who you are! I mean… who did he sell you to?”

Ben fell silent.

“You don’t have to tell me, but the answer might explain why you got debt in the first place. I’ve cast that forget-me-now incantation countless times and I’ve never wound up with the customer dealing with debt, so you must be tied to something or someone pretty important.”

“Why have you used so much memory altering magic?”

It was Spidena’s turn to go quiet.

“Great. Let’s not talk about our pasts. Sounds fair. Let’s just get this debt paid off so we aren’t tied with big magic and we can forget we ever met,” Ben rumbled as he continued trudging through the forest.

Spidena stared at his back with a frown.

She knew the plan had gone a little awry, but what was she supposed to do when she’d passed off the drinks? Just let the nasty pile of toe fungus touch her?

“You didn’t even ask if I was alright,” Spidena mumbled to herself. “Some man you are.”

She had half hoped Ben had heard, but if he did, he didn’t give any signs that he had.

*

The two of them crept back up toward the back of the inn. Thankfully, they were still able to see The Fey Way (Spidena had briefly worried if it’d disappear again).

They managed to pass the chicken coop and the soft yellow tulips bobbing in the breeze without anyone spotting them, ducked under the nearest window, and continued up until they had just about reached the front yard. A goose honked nearby, and the low drone of a cow echoed up from the other side of the inn…

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Peeking around the corner toward the front door, Ben let out a breath of relief.

“Coast is clear. I say we wait here and–”

A heavy footfall in the grass behind them had both Ben and Spidena whirling around.

“Found you.” It was one of the large goons. His front right tooth was chipped, and his greasy auburn hair stuck straight out from the sides of his head. The bulb of his nose twitched as though he wanted to smirk at them.

Ben put an arm in front of Spidena, gently pushing her behind himself.

“They really don’t know who I am?” Ben murmured to her nervously.

“Not at all. They are only mad because I-AH!” Spidena squeaked, making Ben whirl around in time to see that she had been grabbed by the other thug, with Oleg grinning triumphantly at his side.

“You don’t even work for the inn do you?” Oleg jeered at Ben then turned to Spidena who struggled fruitlessly against the tree trunk sized arms of the man pinning her to him.

“Shit,” Ben rasped.

Oleg leaned closer to Spidena who grunted and cursed as her boots kicked helplessly in the air.

“You’re going to pay for that bit of nastiness, you wench.”

Spidena recoiled from Oleg.

Ben’s hands curled into fists.

He knew he shouldn’t use his emergency weapon. It was risky—And he only had a few times he knew it was safe to wield… But they were well and truly fu-

A loud gurgling suddenly echoed out amongst them.

Everyone looked at the man holding Spidena.

Even Spidena’s head turned slowly as she stared up at the goon whose small brown eyes had gone wide.

“Err. Boss. I need to–er–go–” A prolonged, squeak of a fart escaped the man’s back cheeks.

“Now? Of all times!” Oleg spluttered.

A more violent growl rumbled behind Ben, and the group turned to catch the other goon’s face twitch right before he suddenly bolted back into the woods with a suspicious waddle and a hand desperately clutching his left buttocks.

The man holding Spidena dropped her, right as a gut burst of gas sounded off, and he shuffled with a whimper back into the trees, an urgency in his face that forced an impressive flop of sweat to sprout about his brow.

Ben grinned as Spidena stared at him unimpressed. But he was looking at Oleg and already pushing his sleeves up.

He knew he hadn’t had a hope in hells of besting the other two who were more beasts than men, but Oleg?

The sleazy dealer balked as Ben advanced.

“You touch me and I’ll-” Oleg stopped, right as a wet slosh whirled loudly in his stomach.

He pivoted toward the front door of the inn.

“The water is off, dear customer,” Spidena informed him with sickly sweetness in her voice.

Oleg didn’t even manage to glare or threaten Spidena as he, too, stumbled his way into the woods, his hands fisted as a whimper sounded from him.

Once he was out of sight, Ben made his way to stand beside Spidena.

The witch peered up at her travel companion, her look of delight over the state of the awful men faltered when she finally noticed Ben’s smug smile. He knew dosing Oleg and his men’s cups was a good idea.

“Shall we go inside and see if Daffy can make the inn disappear?” he asked breezily.

“Tsk.” Spidena made the sound of annoyance rather than responding as she seized her skirts and stomped back to the door.

Ben shrugged. She had no one to blame but herself for things spiraling so badly.

*

Once the two were sitting safely at one of the benches in the dining room, the doors firmly shut and locked, Ben stared at the windows. Expecting some kind of magical whirlwind to take them away.

“Stop watching,” Spidena grumbled as she reached into her carpet bag and withdrew a notebook and fountain pen.

Ben turned questioningly toward her.

“It won’t happen if you’re watching.”

Opening his mouth to ask why that was, Ben closed it again when he remembered that he didn’t want to get another headache inducing answer.

Besides, his wrist was itchy, and it was making him nervous…

He had almost used that. It had been too close of a call.

“Here we are!” Daffy bustled out of the kitchen, a tray filled with tea cups curling with steam, and plates ladened with fruit and sandwiches. “A well earned lunch I’d say!”

The second the tray touched the table Ben dove for the fare, and started gulping down the food, unaware of Daffy’s stunned expression and Spidena’s disgusted one until he paused to breathe… Which took a lot longer than it would’ve for most people.

“You thank someone before being a pig, you boor!”

“Gooseberries, Man Chop! When was the last time you had a proper meal?” Daffy overcame her astonishment to ask laughingly.

“Man chop?” Ben managed with food still packed in the right side of his cheek.

Daffy waved off the question, and instead stared earnestly at him, willing him to remember her own question.

“It’s been… a few moons…” he answered ambiguously.

Spidena blinked and stared at him more scrupulously as though it hadn’t occurred to her that he’d been starving.

Daffy sighed, shaking her head, her eyes glinting with a motherly-esque worry, and Ben suddenly found himself feeling a little self conscious. No one had looked at him with any kind of kindness in an even longer time than he’d had a good meal.

“Does this mean we’ve paid to sleep here?” Spidena ventured a little shyly, which was so unlike her Ben gave her a look of disbelief while resuming chewing.

“Of course! Though…” A sparkle of mischief entered Daffy’s eyes as she glanced back at Ben as though she had just remembered something delightfully fun. Ben had a wary sense that this wasn’t a good thing for him..

“You see, there’s only one room. With one bed left… So… I hope you two are on good terms!”

Daffy beamed, and Ben found himself wishing he hadn’t eaten quite so much as his stomach clenched quite painfully around his meal.