The other possibility, that the furthest countryside had emptied out of people because there was no one left to tend the farms, was a far more ominous...omen. Without the people, there would be no making of magic. What had Lord Hinderblast done?Early in the afternoon they had passed another abandoned farmstead. Out of curiosity Pardin went inside the house, hoping to find a clue to the mystery of their disappearance. The answer was there. After a quick glance around the large room and with a peek. Two weeks later, Mum and Dad arranged for a relative to look after me as they dressed for the funeral. Mum felt that it was better that I stay at home, rather than subject me to the solemn occasion of the woman's passing. Several of the neighbours and Mrs. Clarke's elderly sister would attend the service at the crematorium, returning for a simple buffet at the house.I watched the hearse pull up outside, noticing the coffin on prominent display in the rear. I tried to visualise her frail frame. And there is other thing..."He didn't go on, but even so I picked up a vague sense of ... unease? Maybe even a little stronger, like a kind of concern that he might not be fully welcomed back when they came to get him. Or that maybe they wouldn't even want to come? It wasn't clear, but there was something there that didn't feel right.But he let it lie there and so did I. I let him back out for another bathroom trip; he was negotiating the steps all right now, and I simply left the door ajar.. Gobbel," Marie said nervously, "I'm so glad you could make it!!!" James Gobbel moved smoothly into Marie's well appointed apartment, and after giving it a quick once over, turned back to Marie and said softly, "I'm glad you followed instructions, it makes things much easier!!!" "Instructions," Marie asked in a slightly puzzled voice!?! "The lingerie," James replied gently, "I'm glad you remembered, it makes things go so much easier!!!" "Why is that," Marie asked weakly, as the overpowering.