all the men and women merely players

M i l d e w

Come down, little darling,
and lay at my breast

It was sweet to see Falke's obvious excitement about her home; Mildew smiled in the way a patient grandmother might, seeing in him a very young mortal discovering the world. "My dear, why couldn't you go? There aren't any walls." She asked first, tilting her head; true, the Feverlands was hardly a nice place to visit, but it was open to anyone that was willing to overcome it's many flaws.

"You'll need to ask me more specific questions than that. I live in the midst of the swamp in a house I built some time ago and I share my home with the creatures there. There are beetles, worms, flies...then larger things too. If you look in the right areas there are fish - and mushrooms...though I wouldn't recommend you harvest them unless you know what to look for." With over five hundred years of experience identifying them, she was confident, but Mildew had seen inexperienced mortals fall to poisonous plants far too often.

As for witches...Leaning forward with her chin on her hand, she grinned. "Yes, dear. In fact, I have a secret for you: I am one." She didn't normally reveal her identity so early, but she wanted to see his reaction.

Oh, come a little closer
and I'll do the rest