A Chigger's Bite

Fred's good leg was starting to itch. Fred scratched it, but the itch did not go away. A red welt rose from his calf.

"I must have picked up a chigger from the wallhugger attack," said Fred, with a sigh. "This has been an ill-starred day."

"Chigger?"

"It is a very small insect that can be found in the forests of Allaria. Some people call them redbugs. They are nearly invisible when they bite you, and the itch that they cause can drive you crazy for days. I might be ready for one of your green pellets."

Checkers had that look, as if she had another plan. "God, I know how the last one turned out," Fred thought. "Please don't suggest anything fancy. I will just take one of the pellets."

Checkers leafs through the great tome, and the ephemera on the bookshelves. "What about my pellet?", Fred asks. "And what are you doing? Even if we find a spell, we don't have a body."

Checkers throws a pellet his way, and continues her search. "How long do chigger bites last, Fred?"

"A week. They are one of the most annoying bites that I know." Suddenly the connection comes to Fred. "No, Checkers, it is not going to work."

"It is either that, or a trip to the Aqualarian Court to be tried. There is plenty of time to go to Court, but we have little time if we are to capture Astra's soul."

"You are mad! Do you think Astra is going to want this?"

"It is just temporary, until we can find her something better."

This was not the way Fred had planned it when he set out to slay the dragon. Some young woman with wings that can work magic without recognizing it for what it is, rummaging through notes looking for a magic spell to resurrect a princess of Aqualaria into the body of a chigger that was causing him a painful itch. How preposterous!

Fred decides to let Checkers exhaust herself before facing reality - Astra was gone. He was already trying to decide whether living his life as an outlaw or accompanying Checkers to Aqualaria would be the less damaging alternative.

Fred absentmindedly turns the pages of Belboz's tome. He sees a poem in the common language. It is a bit of doggeral that has to do with insects.

Chigger, chigger, biting mite
In the cavern, near the light
As you sneak out of your niche
How can I avoid your itch?

Your little mouth sucks my blood
Even though I rub the mud
Upon my wound, it still does hurt
I then try much drier dirt!

And what potion, and what art,
Can ease the scratching of your dart?
When you start to chew on me
What balm can fix, and for what fee?

But I would take all your stings
If by my pain my sins sprout wings,
And the evils that my actions brought
Could somehow be set to naught.

Could enchantment from this tome
Bring the great of heart back home?
I pray the answer soon to see.
I pray that <insert name here> comes to me.

Chigger, chigger, biting mite
In the cavern, near the light
As you sneak out of your niche
How can I avoid your itch?

"It couldn't be", Fred thinks. "On the other hand, what can I lose?"

1. Fred recites the doggerel, inserting Astra's name.

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