Blusterfart seemed to take great delight in delivering a letter to me today.  It’s the first proper communication from the outside world that’s reached me here in the cave since my abduction back in January.  I was touched to see that the ladies in one of my writing haunts -  The Bishop’s Tea Room - have been missing me.  I wrote about half of Dragon Orb: Firestorm in this cafe.

This is what they wrote:

Dear Mark,

Sorry to hear about your situation.  Your disappearance was most unexpected and has had serious repurcussions here in The Bishop’s Tea Room.  Our sales of cakes have dropped so markedly since your unfortunate incarceration that we have only now come to realise how many you ate while you were writing here.

We hope someone rescues you soon, or we may be forced out of business.  We’ve sent a pile of your favourite cakes and added it to your tab for now.  Hope that’s OK.

Best wishes.

The Girls

CAKES!  CAKES!!!  Fantastic, I thought.  Never mind that they were only missing me for my custom.  My mouth was watering at the very thought of the delicious morsels they’d sent.

‘Where’s the package that came with the letter?’ I asked, all excited at the thought of a sugar rush.

I’m now wishing I hadn’t said anything.  Blusterfart’s grin all but split his face in two.  My heart sank.  What at first I had taken to be the usual unspeakable brown filth that adorns the monster’s face had a subtly different shade today - the shade of chocolate.  What was worse, the merciless slime bucket then handed me a little picture of the cakes he’d eaten.  Look!  Caramel Shortbread!  I think I’m going to cry!

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