If there had been anyone left to witness what happened next, then in all probability Pringle would never have done it. This was part of a deal he had made in the dark hours when he had thought the Trickster was dead. He had prayed and prayed and prayed until his knees were raw and his back was numb and in the darkness he had heard a voice, and that voice had taught him to hope. He had become more than a priest that night, he had offered himself up to the Trickster. The Old Man, hiding on the material plane, weary and earth-bound, could not return to the heavens without the faith of his followers. Such was Pringle’s faith, and his lineage, that he could supply a substantial amount of that power to the Old Man. The deal was struck: when Pringle chose to sacrifice his mortal body the Trickste
