Free Mythology Abroad by Jody Lynn Nye

sun every day, but they’re not exposed to the high winds. Small game would be plentiful, as would be fish. The fields are sunny. The place is defensible, but not unreachable.”
    “Do you suppose that they had any dealings with your ancestors?” Keith asked hopefully. “I mean, I noticed that you could tell that the pot we were uncovering was cracked, without touching it. Did you see something? Was it made by one of your Folk?”
    Holl chuckled. “Ah, no. It was just a craftsman’s instincts. I could feel the weakness in the material. It was nearly crying out its infirmity. It had no essence of magic or charm to it. But it was well made, and all of four thousand years old. I admire that.”
    “Is there anything in the site which has got the essence of magic?” Keith pressed. “I mean, what do you think? Would these people have had any contact with yours?”
    “I don’t know,” Holl mused. “The site is not inimical to it. And there’s almost no iron among the remains, and it’s ages too early for steel. All their metals are bronze or softer, which you might have noticed doesn’t hurt me. That would make it more comfortable for contact … but this is all speculation, Keith Doyle.”
    “That’s what I’m best at, speculation and guesses. Besides, the professionals are guessing too; that’s what Dr. Crutchley said. The more evidence we get, the more accurate the picture they can put together.”
    “Well, I don’t know what to look for. I’ve barely seen the habitations occupied by Big Folk this century, let alone one forty times as old.” The Little One sighed. “There’s no sign of anything belonging to my people. In a way, it makes me feel lost and alone. It’s true that we tend not to leave many marks of our passing, just out of self-protection, but I wish that they would have. That site is dry and cold and empty, so far as I can tell. You’re the expert bogey hunter; what do you think?”
    “Well …” Keith mused. “You know, the Little People are hardly likely to have set up shop right next to the Big Folk’s town. You, I mean, they would be unnatural creatures.” A sly smile. “They didn’t have the benefit of a library full of … texts, like we do. If they had, they would have been blamed for all disasters, whether or not they were responsible. You guys would be easy scapegoats, if for no better reason than size. You know, they might have lived further inland, in the woods, or in one of those little valleys we passed surrounded by scrub…?”
    “Dells,” Holl supplied.
    “Right. You can hardly see a hundred yards in any direction. The locals wouldn’t bother to punch through that, not with meadows and bluffs already cleared for them by nature.”
    Holl cheered up. “It doesn’t mean they mightn’t have been nearby. We can have a look, if there’s time.”
    “Yeah!” the red-haired youth agreed. “According to my legend books, this is the kind of place where wood elves and certain kinds of brownies can be found. They seemed to live just about forever, getting older and more crotchety, or wiser, take your pick. If there’s anyone still here, we can ask them about what life was like 4,000 years back, and give Dr. Crutchley something he can use to spike his competition.”
    “If they don’t give us the spike first. I have a feeling that after four thousand years, they won’t likely be too talkative.”
    The rest of the week went on like the beginning of the first day. To Keith’s relief and joy, he was moved off his patch to a new one at Matthew’s left, clearing the grass downslope from the site of the lidded pot’s discovery and beginning an excavation there. “We must find that urn, intact, if possible,” Dr. Crutchley pleaded. “If the small jar was undamaged, the chances are good that other artifacts nearby will be in a similarly well preserved condition. I am sure this was a burial, not a cache, and this grass appears to be undisturbed. My textbooks suggest