Background.
In events
recently described in the official report entitled, The Flight of the Griffin, Merchant Bartholomew Bask was robbed of
a cache of possessions. Rightly outraged, Mr Bask is thought to have hired a
professional bounty hunter to trace his goods and bring the villains to
justice. Unfortunately, the Times has learned that all did not quite go as
expected and Mr Bask was the victim of a series of unfortunate events leading
to him falling into the company of demons…
Times: ‘Mr Bask, thank you for joining us
today. Make yourself comfortable is… is the chair errr… quite big enough is...
Oh… Oh, well don’t worry I’m sure that we can fix that… No, really… please, put it down, Mr Bask please…’
Bartholomew Bask, a portly man of
middle years, jumps to his feet as the chair sags beneath him, brandishing the
chair’s decorative arm.
Bask: ‘Confound it man, yer damn chair’s
not fit fer a midget. Yer might find me something a little more sturdy… and a
cake, bring me a cake and…’
Short respite as a
heavy chair and refreshments are brought for our guest…
Times: ‘Now then, Mr Bask, let us continue.
I do hope you are quite comfortable now? I have a few prepared questions, so
perhaps we can…
What? Oh yes,
yes of course, please help yourself to more cake… and oh… you brought cinnamon
buns… in your pockets, how… convenient how…’
With a mouthful of sponge cake and an
eye to his carefully arranged pile of buns, Bartholomew settles. Small crumbs
fly from his mouth as he speaks.
Bask: ‘Get on with it man, ask yer
blithering questions I have a business ter run… I want my fee and I want more
cake!’
Times: ‘Mr Bask, please, you’re getting
bits of cake all over… Oh never mind, Mr Bask, I understand that you were robbed
and…’
Bartholomew jumps to
his feet.
Bask: ‘Robed I was, ragamuffin scum!
Entered me sleeping quarters and sorted through me unmentionables they did, opened
me safe and when they run, I followed, so I did. Tracked the orrible little…
had a boat they did, and not some normal boat, oh no, this one, this Source
confounded one… Griffin!’
Times: ‘Mr Bask, please, you’re getting
cake all over the floor… sit and calm yourself. So you had articles taken and
then I understand that you employed the notorious hunter and tracker Matheus
Hawk, whom I am told is wanted on several counts of murder and…’
Bask: ‘Damn and blast, get yer facts
straight man! The Hawk is no confidant of mine, an evil creature, so ‘e is.
Tricked me, me a poor honest merchant, robbed and tricked by criminals so I was
and…’
Times: ‘Demons? Did you not also fall into
the company of demons?’
Bartholomew leans forward and his
plate tips sending cakes and buns onto the floor.
Bask: ‘Lies! The Source damned demons
captured me, deceived me, stole my ship and and… ahhh, Yes, I will have more
cake, it tends to sooth me… demons can’t be trusted, that I can tell you, never
trust a demon.’
Times: ‘But what took place Mr Bask? Who
were these thieves? How did they manage to rob you and evade not only you and
your men, but the hunter Matheus Hawk and a group of demons!’
Bask: ‘Those thieves ain’t natural. Look
like children they do, but they aint…them and their strange boat ain’t normal.
Tracked them half way across the kingdom and back again we did. Almost got
them, several times. Got dragged through storms at sea and terrible deserts.’
Bartholomew stands, drops his plate
to the floor and stares out of the window.
‘Looking for
things they were. I’m still not sure why, but they was searching, and whatever
it is they found it should be mine!’
Yer cake is
finished and there’s no more to tell. If you wants more then read the official
report. Got most of it right they have, It’s called The Flight of the Griffin, got a very
nice cover so it has.
Bartholomew waddles out,
our brief interview is over.
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