“Well?”
Digby let out a sigh. I had just finished explaining my recent discovery to him, and he had seemed to slowly deflate as I went on. Still, I needed an explanation for this.
“Most Noble Fae live in the Fae Realms, places that can only be reached by using the fairy mounds, as you did. In those places, the Noble Fae are in their own seat of power, and can shape the world around themselves as they see fit. They have guests, servants, and in many cases, slaves living there with them. Commoner Fae, like myself and my fellow svartalfir, usually live in the material realm, just as humans do. For a Commoner Fae to live in the Fae Realm is very unpleasant. The Noble Fae rules all, and they demand much in exchange for hospitality. Commoner Fae who haven't been bound into service usually live in little communities all over the world; the boggarts have their swamps, the trolls have their rocky hillsides, the gnomes have their caves, that sort of thing. We svartalfir, on the other hand, don't like living in seclusion. There's something about the messy, dirty, chaotic places that humans build that appeals to us enormously. We like to live among humans, always in secret. Humans always provide us with plenty to do, new ideas, new experiences. Here, we can live and do business and do as we please for the most part.”
I stared at him as he delivered this speech, trying to sense whether he was telling the truth.
“Why didn't you tell me all this before?” I asked finally.
“It wasn't my place. We are extremely cautious about revealing ourselves to humans. I chose to take the chance to trust you, but that doesn't mean I would risk others as well. Many humans would reveal us and have us all killed as soon as we showed ourselves.”
Something still wasn't right. “There's still something you aren't telling me. What is it?”
Digby nodded. “There are a lot of Unseelie Fae. But you need to understand that the two courts aren't monolithic. Each of the Nobles has their own domain and sphere of influence. Our...patron, the Fae lady you met under the mound, is just one among hundreds. The Unseelie are not...good, as humans would understand the word. We don't think or feel the way humans do about many things. Some of us came here as travelers and settled down, as you have. Some of us were brought here as infants and left as foundlings. Many families around here have raised a son or daughter who is one of us. But sometimes...does the word, “changeling” mean anything to you?
I nodded. This was something I had suspected for a while. These Fey were based on the folk stories that humans in the real world had been telling for ages, and a common feature of those stories were the fairies who stole away human children and replaced them. Sometimes the replacement was created by magic and would die or turn into a piece of wood or something after a while. Sometimes, the replacement would be a fairy child, that the parents would then unknowingly raise. In reality, of course, these stories were told in response to the tragic but common death of an infant, or just when a child was being especially selfish and ill-behaved. Here, though, having your son or daughter whisked away to live as a slave while you were stuck raising a nasty little goblin was a real possibility. No wonder these people didn't trust strangers.
“You steal children.” I said flatly.
“Not me! Most fae wouldn't, especially those who are raised by humans. My parents, well, I don't exactly love them. Love is something that humans have for one another. But they did love me, and they raised me as best they could, and we Fae do have gratitude. I wouldn't steal anyone's child.”
“But there are Unseelie who would.”
He nodded. “And Seelie too. It all depends on which Noble is calling the shots. There is no widespread consensus on the matter. It's essentially down to personal taste.”
“What about the ones here in town? Are any of them child-thieves?”
Digby seemed to ponder the question. “Not that I know of. If all a svartalfir wants is to get rid of their young, leaving it on a doorstep is enough. Stealing the child is usually done on the orders of the Nobles. Nobles are always giving birth to offspring that they have no interest in caring for. With a changeling, you get rid of an annoyance and gain a servant. I have never heard of our patron ordering such a thing, but the Nobles are always unpredictable.”
“You understand why I have to know these things, don't you?” I asked. “You think the Seelie Fae are trying to take over this town, but it looks to me like the Unseelie already have a big presence here. Are you in control of Rocky Shore?”
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Digby shook his head. “Not by half. We usually infiltrate poor communities, because they are more appealing to us. No svartalfir could ever be welcome among the wealthy.”
I suspected this to be a lie, but I pressed on regardless. “Why? What's the hold-up on that?”
“You must have noticed that svartalfir have a somewhat different approach to the concept of beauty. What humans find attractive, we find horrible. The homes of the wealthy disgust us. I would never want to lie on silk sheets surrounded by opulence, any more than you want to sleep in a shack full of refuse.” he said, gesturing to the shack full of refuse I was using as a bedroom.
That did explain a lot. For one, it explained why the goblins were so disfigured in their human disguises. If they could choose to look however they wished, why were none of them beautiful, or even just ordinary-looking? It hadn't occurred to me that they might have an entirely distinct set of aesthetic standards. To them, the smelly shack I had been sleeping in recently would probably be considered opulent.
“Alright. I've answered your questions. I have questions of my own.”
This sounded an awful lot like an attempt to dissuade me from grilling him further, but if so, it worked. I was curious. “Such as?”
“Such as I've told you a lot about what I am and where I've come from, and I still know next to nothing about you. Are you even really a human? Where did you come from? What really happened at Matilda's shop that night?”
I stared at him silently. I was in no hurry to answer any of these questions, and Digby of all people would know if I was lying. What was I supposed to do? Tell him that his entire existence is a minuscule part of a vast computer program that apparently exists for sole purpose of making me and the other people trapped in it happy?
Digby pressed on without waiting for a response. “I don't know everything, but I know how to use my eyes and ears. Those two who broke into Matilda's shop reminded me a lot of you. You were in there with them a long time, and there was fighting for only a little of it. You never said a word to me about what you all discussed in there. One of them was a mage of some kind. I saw what she did to Gerald. You have quite a few odd abilities yourself. Nothing that a human couldn't manage, in theory, but a human like you should be rarer than a frog's eyebrows. So tell me, what are you, really?”
“I'm a human being.” I said, daring him to inquire further.
He dared. “You're not lying, but that just makes things worse. If every human were like you, we Fae would have no chance. A lot of very odd humans have been appearing in the countryside lately. People who seem to be able to speak any language they hear, and have their own strange tongue as well. People who seem to act very strangely, and make decisions that humans wouldn't normally make. I hear that better than half of them are mages, when only one in tens of thousands ought to be. And they all just show up out of nowhere, as if they fell off the moon, asking strange questions that any human should be able to answer. Any of this sounding familiar, Raymond?”
I stared at him. He had me dead to rights.
“You see, Raymond, we Fae have existed for eons. Humans are quite a recent development by our standards. Now, out of the blue, humans seem to be rethinking their place in our world. This new brand of mortal is going to become a major threat to us, and we don't respond well to threats. I've done my best to be an ally to you, Raymond, and I'd like to think I can trust you. So level with me. Where did you come from, and what is happening next?”
I was silent for a moment, but this time Digby outlasted me. “I haven't lied to you, Digby. I can't tell you everything, but I'll do my best. There will probably be a lot more people like me showing up in the future. I don't know how many. They'll all be able to do certain things very well. They'll be stronger and faster than the humans you're used to. They'll also be smarter, and more cunning, and they'll be able to convince other humans to follow them and do as they say. They won't all be on the same side, though. They'll be as divided as humans usually are. They'll have weaknesses to offset their strengths. The thing that you really need to understand, though, is that they don't think the way humans normally do. They won't see you or your world as real.”
“Not real? What do you mean by that?”
“They will think that they are dreaming, or playing a game. They will see you as a piece on the board, or a character in a story. That is why they make decisions that seem overly reckless, or even cruel. You, the Fae, the other humans, all the living things of this world, they will see as mere resources, to be used and discarded as they see fit. Do you understand?”
“Yes. It sounds like you see us about the same way we see you.”
I smiled. “Is that all I am to you, Digby? A resource?”
Digby returned my smile and clapped me on the shoulder. “Yes. You're the best thing I ever picked out of the trash.”
If that was as close as a goblin could come to friendship, then I accepted that.
“Good night, Digby.”
I left the shop to clear my head. I was probably going to regret sharing as much as I had with the twisted little goblin, but finally opening up to someone had been intensely cathartic. I was surprised by how pleasant the night air was. It felt intensely cold, but somehow still comfortable. My fingertips weren't even numb. Then I remembered that I had picked up “Ice Walker” when I had leveled up. That probably meant that I could survive in temperatures that would be deadly otherwise. Another freakish characteristic that didn't quite make me superhuman, but would separate me from humanity none the less.
I stood for a moment and watched the residents of Dogberry Lane finishing up their activities and turning in for the night. A fog was beginning to descend as I mulled over my situation. Maybe I should leave Rocky Shore and seek out other players. If the Fae were starting to become aware of us as a force distinct from the ordinary mortals, they might decide to exterminate us. If they became aware of how our powers grew with time, they might just stop fighting among themselves and unite out of desperation. That would be a disaster. If, on the other hand, they saw us as shiny new weapons they could use in their wars, they would do everything they could to recruit us. That seemed like a more Seelie approach to the problem, manipulative and subversive. I retired to bed, but since my internal clock was still off kilter from the previous night, I stayed up and read the remainder of the book. I would need a lot of tricks up my sleeve to survive in the world of Fae politics.