The Spook's Bestiary - By Joseph Delaney Page 0,7
business.7 Some apprentices have been unlucky or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Paul Preston, for example, was diligent and hard working; I had never seen a neater or more thorough notebook. All the preparation and knowledge in the world, however, would not have saved him.
Paul was gored by a goat boggart as we crossed a muddy field near Wheeton. It intended to drive us away, but by mischance it achieved solidity the moment it made contact with my apprentice. Its horns entered just below his ribs, the left one spearing upward to pierce the heart. Poor unlucky Paul died instantly.
By contrast, some apprentices have brought misfortune upon themselves. I had taken to my bed with a severe fever and was forced to send my apprentice Billy Bradley out alone to bind a ripper, which is one of the most dangerous boggarts of all. I had trained the boy well and given him full instructions; he should have been able to complete the task successfully. What went wrong must be noted so that no future apprentice ever repeats his mistakes.
Unfortunately, Billy was something of a daydreamer who never wrote up his notes with the thoroughness and detail required. To add to his lack of knowledge, there was a serious flaw in his character—that of impatience. The weather was bad, with wind and torrential rain, and Billy tried to complete the task too quickly. He lined the pit with salt and iron and managed to lower the bait dish in successfully, but he had already made one mistake that was to prove fatal.
Rather than hiring the very necessary experienced riggers, he had employed local laborers who lacked the necessary knowledge and skills. A block and tackle is the best device for positioning the stone; it uses a system of metal chains to lower the lid slowly and precisely. But you have to know what you’re doing, and these men didn’t. The stone trapped Billy’s left hand, and before it could be released, the boggart bit his fingers off at the second knuckles and started to suck his blood. In the five minutes following this unfortunate incident, panic and sheer incompetence turned a retrievable situation into a tragedy.
The boy was screaming with pain, contributing to the terror and confusion. And whereas skilled riggers would have lifted the stone from Billy’s hand in mere seconds, the hired laborers panicked. The stone was hoisted unevenly. The far side rose slightly and the chain jammed. The edge that had trapped Billy’s hand pressed down on it even harder. By the time they managed to drag him free, the damage was done. The boy was unconscious and within moments stopped breathing. The shock and severe loss of blood had resulted in his death.
Billy had also made a second mistake. Being impatient, he’d failed to wait for the mason to return from his supper at a local tavern. Not only do masons cut and shape stone expertly; when working with riggers they are also skillful at positioning the lid of a boggart pit. The presence of the mason might just have saved Billy’s life.8
STAGE 4: SLAYING
Finally, when all else fails, a boggart must be slain by casting salt and iron at it. It is important to get the timing right. Both substances must be hurled in such a way that they come together at exactly the same moment and envelop the boggart in a lethal cloud. Again, this takes a great deal of practice. Very powerful boggarts who can remain invisible even to spooks are particularly difficult to deal with. They may be located only by the sounds they make and the direction from which objects are thrown. But as they get weaker and expend their energy, they gradually become visible. Stone chuckers are the worst of these to deal with.9
The method when dealing with a stone chucker is as follows:
1. Stir salt and iron into a bone glue.
2. If it is necessary to drive it away from human habitation, daub the mixture in all the places the boggart frequents. This stops it from taking refuge there.
3. Locate its true home. This is often a hollow tree. Stone chuckers prefer thorn trees.
4. Chop down the tree and burn the roots. The creature has stored its power there, and by denying it that, you will make it less dangerous. Now angry and aggressive, it will seek out the one responsible for its woes.
5. Finally, present yourself as a target for the boggart. It will waste